European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE REGARDING COVID-19 PANDEMICS AMONG NURSING STUDENTS OF KATHMANDU VALLEY

Shova Shrestha*, Mithu Saud, Saraswati Shrestha and Shraddha Shakya

ABSTRACT

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an on-going pandemic that significantly affects the healthcare system globally. Appropriate prevention and control measures need to be adopted to manage the pandemic through the updated knowledge and practice by frontline health workers. Nursing students as part of the frontline health workers should know about COVID. Hence, this study aimed to assess the Knowledge and Practice Regarding COVID-19 Pandemics among Nursing Students of Kathmandu Valley. Methods: Descriptive, Cross-sectional study research design was used to assess the knowledge and practice of COVID-19 among 216 nursing students of Kathmandu valley through the probability lottery sampling technique from 11th March to 23rd March 2021. A self-administered structured questionnaire was used as a tool for data collection. Data were analysed in SPSS version 20 where descriptive statistical methods in terms of frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation and inferential statistical methods i.e. chi-square test was used to see the association between socio-demographic variables, knowledge and practice. Likewise, Pearson correlation was used to reveals the relationship between knowledge and practice. Results/ Finding: The result showed 79.63% had good knowledge and 84.7% had good practice among the respondents. However, there was a significant relationship between knowledge and practice measures (p-value :< 0.001). Similarly, there was no association between socio-demographic variables, knowledge and practice except living conditions. Conclusion: Despite the tremendous crisis of the pandemic, this study reveals that the majority of respondents had a good level of knowledge and practice regarding COVID-19 among the respondents. However, training related to preventive measures, adequate supply of personal protective equipment should be provided to undergraduate students to make our society more secure and combat this pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19, Knowledge, Practice, Nursing Students, Pandemics.